Nikki Giovanni’s "We Are Virginia Tech"

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by Nikki Giovanni

We Are Virginia Tech

We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devestated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think we are and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail.
We will prevail.
We will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech.

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Linda Ronstadt sings "Poor Wandering One" from Pirates of Penzance

Duration 5:04


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from The Pirates of Penzance
(or, The Slave of Duty)


written by W. S. Gilbert


composed by Arthur Sullivan


Poor Wandering One


sung by Linda Ronstadt as Mabel


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FREDERIC. (in despair)
        Not one?

GIRLS.
        No, no--not one!

FREDERIC.
        Not one?

GIRLS.
        No, no!

Enter MABEL.

MABEL.
        Yes, one!

GIRLS.
        'Tis Mabel!

MABEL.
        Yes, 'tis Mabel!

RECITATIVE MABEL.
        Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name,
                For shame!
        It's true that he has gone astray,
                But pray
        Is that a reason good and true
                Why you
        Should all be deaf to pity's name?

GIRLS. (aside)
        The question is, had he not been
                A thing of beauty,
        Would she be swayed by quite as keen
                A sense of duty?

MABEL.
        For shame, for shame, for shame!

SONG MABEL.

MABEL.
        Poor wandering one!
        Though thou hast surely strayed,
        Take heart of grace,
        Thy steps retrace,
        Poor wandering one!

        Poor wandering one!
        If such poor love as mine
        Can help thee find
        True peace of mind
        Why, take it, it is thine!

GIRLS.
        Take heart; no danger lowers;
        Take any heart--but ours!

MABEL.
        Take heart, fair days will shine;
        Take any heart--take mine!

GIRLS.
        Take heart; no danger lowers;
        Take any heart--but ours!

MABEL.
        Take heart, fair days will shine;
        Take any heart--take mine!

        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!

        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah . . .
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah! . . .

        Ah ah
        Poor wandering one!
        Though thou hast surely strayed,
        Take heart of grace,
        Thy steps retrace,
        Poor wandering one!

MABEL. (GIRLS).
        (Poor wandering one!)
        Ah, ah, ah, ah ah
        (Poor wandering one!)
        Ah, ah, ah, ah ah
        (Take heart. Take heart)

        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
        (Take any heart--but ours)

        Take ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah (Take heart.)
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah (Take heart.)
        Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah heart
        Take mine.

        (Take heart, no danger lowers.)
        (Take any heart--but ours.)
        (Take) Ah-ah-ah
        (heart) Ah-ah-ah
        (Take) Ah-ah-ah
        (heart) Ah-ah-ah
        (Take any heart--but ours.)/Ah-ah-ah

        Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

        Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

        Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

        Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

        Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

        Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

        Ah ah/(Take heart!)


Exeunt MABEL and FREDERIC.


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Helen Roberts as Mabel 1939


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Mabel (Muriel Dickson) Edith (Marjorie Eyre) Frederic (John Dean) & Kate (Masie Baxter) 1933


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Los Lobos doing Will the Wolf Survive?

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from the Los Lobos album "How Will the Wolf Survive?"
      Steve Berlin
      (soprano, tenor & baritone saxophones, percussion)
      David Hidalgo
      (vocals, guitar, accordion, lap steel guitar, percussion)
      Conrad Lozano
      (bass, guitarron, vocals)
      Louie Pérez
      (drums, guitar, quinto)
      Cesar Rosas
      (vocals, guitar, bajo sexto, mandolin)


written by David Hidalgo & Louie Pérez


Will the Wolf Survive?


Through the chill of winter
Running across the frozen lake
Hunters hard on his trail
All odds are against him
With a family to provide for
The one thing he must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?

Drifting by the roadside
Climbs a strong and aging face
Wants to make some honest pay
Losing to the range war
He's got two strong legs to guide him
Two strong arms keep him alive
Will the wolf survive?

Standing in the pouring rain
All alone in a world that's changed
Running scared now forced to hide
In a land where he once stood with pride
But he'll find his way by the morning light

Sounds across the nation
Coming from young hearts and minds
Battered drums and old guitars
Singing songs of passion
It's the truth that they all look for
Something they must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Will the wolf survive?


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